Tuesday, January 18, 2011

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology issues statement on privatization issues: "currently, no plans to go private"

The following was sent from the school's administration to the student body:

Ongoing news reports have noted that South Dakota state legislator and House Majority Leader David Lust (representing District 34 in Pennington County) intends to introduce a bill that would allow the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology to convert to a private college.

This is not legislation that either the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology or the Board of Regents has proposed or requested.

Rep. Lust has made it clear that his proposal would allow, not force, the School of Mines to pursue privatization, should we choose to do so. We currently have no plans to go private.

As the discussion proceeds, the School of Mines will ensure any proposed option guarantees that the institution will retain both a high-quality and affordable education. As we have done to-date, we will continue to grow the institution’s enrollment and research enterprise. Again, the School of Mines currently has no plans to to go private.

Members of the media seeking opinions on the matter have and can be expected to approach students on campus. We do not intend to interfere with such conversations.

Vice President for University Relations Graham Garner is the only officially designated spokesperson for the School of Mines and is working closely with President Robert A. Wharton and other senior administrators to coordinate responses.